The Tower in the Shadows

Their return was met with great acclaim.

The adventurers cheered for the returnees but took note of their condition. The two fighters were battered and worn. They observed, factoring it into their calculations for those planning to go to the new floor. Doltum was a diamond-tier adventurer; whatever lay down there was dangerous enough to batter him. What would it do to them?

Reports and rumours spread fast, as many outside the city were interested in what could be learned from the floor. Those with the correct information were to make fortunes. Some were brave or impatient and took what little they could glean and ran with it.

The rest awaited the official word.

The first thing announced that day, the 10th floor of the Tower in the Shadows Dungeon, was rated platinum.

Speculation increased exponentially from there.

## ## ## ## ##

Maximus had respawned and was not in a good mood.

"I did warn you they were strong."

<I would have beaten him if I were not distracted by the other human joining the fight!>

His growl was more pronounced, and he clawed at the ground angrily. He was neither wrong nor right.

"True, you had the advantage at the beginning. Would you have won? Maybe."

This made him stop and glare at the pillar containing my Core.

<You doubt me?>

"No. However, I am aware of your strengths and weaknesses. I know some of theirs. Victory would have been difficult."

He snorted in frustration and took to the air. I watched him fly up to one of the platforms and settle in. He had his back to me, which reminded me of Larry. I felt like laughing, but managed not to.

I reviewed the fight; however, he wasn't wrong—it was an extremely close fight when I looked it over again. Doltum was on the defensive right from the start, and if Seela had not joined in, he would have been in serious trouble. He had not escaped the battle without injury, and Maximus was the first of my minions to achieve this. That in itself was an achievement that I was proud of. Diamond tier adventurers had to be careful in my dungeon now.

He had performed to my expectations and beyond. I wondered what the rating for this floor would be. I was aiming for high gold at the very least and platinum more realistically. Looking at my creation in action against a veteran and powerful adventurer showed me that my creation was worth the effort and the time, even though he was a bit of a prima donna and in a huff with me right now.

I now had to start thinking about floor 11. I was going to reach it any time soon, as I expected this floor would not attract many adventurers. Sure, I would get the stupid and the brave, but the smart ones would avoid it right now until they were confident enough to face Maximus.

I can always rely on stupid adventures to show up. But that had fallen off as the dungeon had gone deeper, and their numbers dwindled due to misadventures. I'm pretty sure Krag has killed off all the stupid ones on the surface, but you never know when more will show up.

Gold always attracted the hungry and the greedy.

So, I lived in hope.

Looking out across the floor, I was satisfied with everything. I had thought about some changes, but decided to leave everything as is. Nothing was too extreme or easy. The balance was good.

So, what will the next floor be?

I was at least a year away from that floor at the current rate, but I wanted to be ready. Planning it now was also a good idea; it meant I wouldn't be bored.

I opened up my screens and lists of resources and minions.

"What to do?"

## ## ## ## ##

Ranus sat in his office, hosting a meeting of the major movers and players in the city that made up his council.

The subject of this meeting was the 10th floor of the dungeon.

"Infernal mana," Nextom spoke, naming many of their concerns.

"Yes, we confirmed its presence in the new monster that resides on that floor," Elian confirmed. She was sitting next to Albrot and Averance. Having both high-ranking members of the Guild present at the same time was a sign of how seriously they were taking this meeting.

"Are you seeing any other signs of corruption from the infernal mana?" Comus asked. He had returned to the council meetings and had been warmly welcomed by most, though a few still harboured some concerns. The process of corruption removal was starting to become more common, but many still doubted its full effectiveness.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"No. We did not fully inspect the Core. Doltum was concerned that the dungeon had introduced additional defences to protect it. At that point, he was exhausted after the battle he had just fought and did not want to risk another." Elian looked at him as she answered.

"We must inspect the whole dungeon, then and the Core. The dangers of corruption from infernal mana are too high." Nextom was unhappy with this whole situation, but was doing the best to find a satisfactory solution.

"That can be arranged." Elian again spoke for the Adventurers Guild. "However, it will take time for us to arrange for it to happen as the 10th floor is far too dangerous for all but a handful within the city."

Everyone nodded at her words, understanding that a platinum grade danger was something you did not underestimate or ignore. Very few adventurers on the continent could handle something like that. After the recent violence and the destruction of the temples of Oda, there were fewer still in the world now.

No one was sure what had happened, but the aftermath spoke volumes. Every temple dedicated to the god of balance was destroyed. His priests and clergy either turned into white corrupted monsters or were slain fighting to defend the innocent. Some had escaped into the world and were actively hunted by the other churches and temples.

The carnage and death toll reaped worldwide was terrifying and still being tallied. No race or nation was left untouched. Many were addressing it in terms of what had happened with the Folly, but not localised to the human continent.

The Pantheon had remained silent, directing their followers to hunt the corrupted. They had all openly supported the new method of corruption removal pioneered by High Healer Selmum. They had also approved all the safety measures she had introduced to the process and storage of the new void stones required to make it happen.

The vast majority listened to the words and obeyed, but there were always those who thought they knew better or were too arrogant to understand the dangers. There had been incidents, but they were being dealt with.

"Let us stay on topic." Ranus kept the meeting focused on the new floor. "Floors 1 to 9 can be checked safely. We can take action if there are any signs of infernal corruption."

"The Guild has enough resources at hand to do that," Elian told the group.

"Excellent. Does that alleviate your concerns for the moment, Arbiter Nextom?" Ranus asked the other man.

"For now, yes, Lord Goldwind." Nextom relented and gave his approval to Ranus.

"Does anyone else have issues or concerns on this topic?" Ranus asked the group. They all shook their heads, saying they had nothing to add. "Then I shall not hold you here any longer, as we all have much to do."

They all recognised the dismissal and most quickly filed out, leaving a handful behind. Elian, Comus, and Albrot were the only ones left in the room. Averance was the first out of the door. Many were unsure what was scarier: Averance had nothing to do, or was busy. Both came with concerns and dangers.

"How bad can it be?" He asked when everyone else was away, and the door was closed.

"Truthfully. We just don't know." Elian said to him, no longer diplomatic. "Dungeon Cores are unique beings. They interact with such forces as celestial and infernal mana differently from us mortals."

"Is there a danger that we might face an Infernal Dungeon?" Ranus no longer hid his concern when he asked the question.

"I'm going to say I doubt it." This came from Comus. It was the first time he had spoken during the whole meeting, and everyone had turned their attention to you. He visibly shifted uncomfortably under all the attention.

"Why?" Albrot asked.

"This Core was created to deal with void corruption. That is a far more destructive and corruptive force than infernal. I am of the mind that the infernal mana will not pose a threat to the Core or the dungeon."

"We at the Guild of Adventurers had been thinking similarly." Albrot agreed with him. "The risk of the infernal mana is low."

"Many people will not be satisfied until you check the core." Ranus was sure that was what many were thinking. This number would only grow as the knowledge of the infernal mana in the dungeon grew.

"The only way to check the Core is to go on to the 10th floor. The Core has shifted its position from its old hiding place to a new one." Elian pointed out. "We will need to clear the floor if we're going to check the core, and we might have to fight its new defender as well."

"Are you sure there's one there? So far, the Core has relied on its ability to stay hidden." Ranus was hoping for the best.

"Doltum was adamant that a defender is now protecting the core," Albrot confirmed. "I would be extremely hesitant to send anyone down to that floor who is not platinum or above. The combination of the monster on the floor and whatever the defender is makes viewing the Core a hazardous prospect."

This brought silence to the table as they realised that anyone they sent to view the Core now would be at a high risk of death.

"Could not High Guild Master Averance do it?" Comus asked.

"She has reached a point in her Path that she is limited in entry to any dungeon below the rank of diamond," Albrot confessed. "It will be at least another year before she can enter the dungeon here."

"Any infernal corruption present will have spread beyond our ability to contain and treat by that time." Ranus realised what he was saying and voiced the problem.

"Yes. Doltum will be ready in a week to go in again." Elian said. "We are encouraging him to seek support…"

"He won't." Albrot snorted.

"…. but we are hopeful."

"We will be eager to see what he will say." Ranus wondered like the others in the room.

## ## ## ## ##

I had no clue about the next floor.

What to do? I had options, but none of them seemed to grab my attention. Honestly, I've been so focused on the 10th floor for so long that I have ignored so much more.

I could create an abomination. I was pretty sure that with everything on my list, I could come up with some pretty unusual combinations. Could they work? Who knew? However, if I choose this route, I will have plenty to explore and experiment with.

I laughed to myself, imagining a sharoon with wings flying around unleashing fireballs on unsuspecting adventurers—a horde of Larry's bringing terror from above.

…. I think I could do that. It might actually work.

Another possibility I was looking at was some form of a floor of undead or golems. The revenant on the eighth floor had been quite a success, and I could easily create more undead that followed a similar pattern.

I can create a graveyard or a cavern filled with rotten vegetation. Or maybe the catacombs? To mix things up, I could increase the amount of Blood Moss or even try to combine undead with new plants. There were numerous options ahead of me, and I was considering them all.

Other possibilities I entertained during my free time. I didn't count on anything new attacking my dungeon or me gaining access to new monsters. I was a bit of a magnet for trouble and void corrupted monsters, so I might achieve something that inspired me later.

How about a floor filled with Pucks? The environment is designed with mirrors reflecting surfaces to disorient and confuse. That sounded like fun.

But what would the Guardian be?

Another illusion lion? But souped up this time to be bigger and stronger?

Another interesting possibility.

Then I remembered something about the Underland's.

If I kept on digging down, would I run into them?